The title compound is prepared starting from the known (S) methyl 2-(biphenyl-2-yloxy)propionate (I). Treatment of ester (I) with ethylenediamine (II) in the presence of AlMe3 gives rise to the corresponding imidazoline (II) with some loss of optical purity. Enantiomeric enrichment of (II) is accomplished by fractional crystallization with (-)-di-O,O'-p-toluoyl-L-tartaric acid. The optically pure imidazoline is finally isolated as the corresponding oxalate salt.